Windows Phone 8.1 Cortana voice commands teased by leaked icons

We’ve heard a lot about Microsoft’s heavily rumoured Windows Phone 8.1 voice assistant, but these new icons suggest it will have a lot more functionality than originally thought.

A list of Cortana icons have been pulled from a Windows Phone 8.1 SDK by LiveSino.net, which suggest Cortana will have more features that the iOS Siri voice assistant.

Not only will Cortana be able to offer basic information like setting your alarm, searching the web or checking weather forecasts, but it will also be able to give you stock info, play music, make appointments and even warn of heavy traffic.

It also seems Cortana will be able to take notes for you, activate the Do Not Disturb mode, toggle Bluetooth, make calls, send messages and give you directions to your various destinations.

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From the looks of it, Microsoft is trying to make its voice assistant more like Google Now than Siri, but will also take some notes from Motorola.

According to previous rumours, Cortana will be always-on rather than having to be activated at the push of a button, similar to the Motorola Moto X’s Google Now software features.

Rumours also suggest that Cortana will not only be named after the character from the Halo series, but will also be voiced by the same actress – Jen Taylor.

Windows Phone 8.1 is expected to be officially launched at the Microsoft Build Conference in April, with other rumoured features including a swipe down notification centre. Read more: Windows Phone 8 tips and tricks